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A New Way to Sleep

Elias CAN roll from his back to his stomach, we are sure of it. However, he NEVER does – he goes three-quarters of the way and then decides he doesn’t want to and goes back to his back. Silly boy.

Proof that he is able to roll is in how he is chooses to sleep lately – on his side, holding tightly to his lovey. He will not fall asleep without his lovey. It is so sweet. We have four or five different ones – he isn’t too picky. This one is from my Aunt Sandy. I usually take it away once he has fallen asleep because I worry about him suffocating. That is probably just an over-protective, first-time mom thing, isn’t it? A few times I have forgotten and he has always been fine. lol.

Did/do your kids have something that they have to fall asleep with? Does this change as they get older? Would love your thoughts… ________________________________________Subscribe to my blog hereTwitter me – I’m JessicaNTurner

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Both our kids have things they sleep with. Our older has a couple blankets and a few stuffed toys that she always likes to have with her. Our younger one has a stuffed dog that is a must have wherever she goes. If he can roll I wouldn’t worry about him suffocating though. He’ll be able to move his head to accommodate his breathing passages. I used to worry about the same things with our first but once they’re really able to roll and be mobile that way it’s fine. Especially when they’re rolling onto their stomach to sleep… can’t stop them after that! Sweet picture too btw!

our son had a snowman, the one from the book “The Snowman” that we all called frosty. it’s funny because our oldest nephew had one also when he was little. our son slept with it until he was about 4 and now it changes. he’s 9 now and still loves his webkins, but i have a feeling he’ll be outgrowing sleeping with a stuffed animal pretty soon. our older nephews did around 10 or so. now our nieces who are 13 and 12 still sleep with their favorite lovies. our oldest niece has a small silk baby pillow she still sleeps with. i think she’s gone through several of them now. once they start shredding one of us usually buys her a new one.

I slept with my “blankie” until I got married:) and then didn’t sleep well for the first month of marriage, since I didn’t have it anymore:)Our 6 month old also has a lovey she sleeps with, and she likes to nap on her side too, but she has a hard time getting herself on her side; she grabs the side of her crib and pulls herself over:)I take her lovey away if I’m not there while she’s asleep — nothing overprotective about it:) They aren’t supposed to have anything in bed with them, and I, like you, take that very seriously!

My youngest is 11 y/o has a blankie she's had since she was 3 months old that she got for Christmas from her Great Grandma. It was soft & satin trimmed that said "Baby" on one part of it. Now it's rough, has holes & the satin is barely hanging on. My older daughter named it "Itchy" because being that it's been washed & dragged everywhere it's become a little rough. She still sleeps with it & if I've taken it without her knowing to wash it….you better believe she's asking me "where's Itchy". LOL! Personally, I think it's cute & would love her to hang onto it however long she'd like. I think that keeps her my "BABY" longer.

My oldest and my middle child slept with stuffed bears. The youngest slept with us for a long time so he never needed anything else. My oldest took her bear with her to college. My middle son is 17 and, of course, never sleeps with anything like that now. But it’s still around in the house somewhere.

I have two girls, ages 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. They both have little square blankets (beebee’s)that they sleep with every night. They have had them since they were probably 6 months or so. They are aloud to take them in the car, but no where else. We lost one once, and we won’t go through that again. 🙂 My little boy is 2 months, and I already have one for him. We’ll see if he takes to is like his sisters.

My kids are definately blanket kiddos. The big fight with my 4.5y old is if he can take his blanket in the store or to church with him. The fact that other kids in his class dont do this doesn’t bother him in the LEAST! 18m old carries her pink satin one everywhere for now! I think the sufficating deal is 1st time moms… I did it too but now I am so greatful for that darn thing I just make sure it IS in the bed with them so they dont wake me looking for it!!! 🙂

JESSICA, that is such a sweet picture!! Oh really, I just want to squeeze him.

All three of our kids have things they need to sleep with- although of all three our oldest, Cate, has never really been SO particular about who/what she has. She goes through phases where she needs her blankie, or needs her two stuffed dogs, or needs Mommy (heh).

Our boys, on the other hand, each have a lovie that must under all circumstances be present for relaxing. Marty has an Elephant lovie which he fell head over heels for at the ripe old age of 8 weeks and has been clinging to ever since. We cannot substitute anyone for Ellie, and rarely can I even sneak Ellie off long enough to give her a bath. As such we try not to let Ellie come to the park or out on random errands or playdates because if anything ever happened to her, we’d be in for it. I have a backup identical Ellie, but he can tell the difference immediately ad backup Ellie is unacceptable. It’s so sweet though, he holds her by her trunk and sucks his thumb with the same hand, so they sleep nose to trunk. LOVE. He’s also recently in the last year fallen for his big blankie, and we call him Linus because he drags his blankie around while he holds Ellie nose to trunk. 😉

Our littlest, Jimmy, has a pony just like Marty’s Ellie, named Pony. He’s my Pony Boy. He needs Pony and a small royal blue blankie that we call his Super Blanks- it’s like Superman Blue. Jimmy’s 5 months now, but when he was as young as 6 weeks he would settle immediately when we gave him Pony and Super Blanks. He had Pony in his hospital bassinet and my Mom gave him Super Blanks when he came home. Pony and Super Blanks also rarely get baths, but honestly I think the boys prefer it that way!

(side note, I had a blanket growing up that I HAD to have everywhere, and which over time turned into a tattered mess of shredded blankie, but my parents STILL have it, how cute?)

I have to give Abby 2 pacifiers when she goes to sleep. She likes to switch them out. So silly. I am hoping to break her though by the time she is 18 months old. Right now, she only gets a paci in the crib-nowhere else.

Taylor (7 mos on Sunday) sleeps on his side now too. It’s so cute. But he doesn’t have anything that he likes to sleep with at this point. My daughter (3) has a yellow blankie that she loves and will move heaven and earth to find it before bed.

I’m definitely a little more relaxed about the suffocating thing the second time around, but do what gives you peace of mind!

Also, I read somewhere (I wish I could remember where, ‘cuz I’d share the source) that you can reduce the possibility of SIDS by 70% by having a fan going in your child’s room. Isn’t that amazing?The circulating of the air helps reduce the possibility of babies rebreathing their own exhaled carbon dioxide, I believe is the explanation. Anyway, if you googled “SIDS and fans” you could probably find more info.

I’m currently trying to break my 7 year old son of his blankie! oh he loves it still. 🙂 (My 10 and 13 year old girls still sleep w/theirs too, just not as dependant as he is!) Something so comforting about a blanket. The picture of your little one is so sweet! Enjoy!

I have four children. My oldest didn’t just have one thing she had to sleep with but her younger sister did. She had to have Bee and Bunny, they were these silly little stuffed toys I got from Avon. Now her two babies love them and play with them!

My son has always had to have his stuffed bear Howard, I bought it for him when I first found out I was pregnate with him. He is 15 and still sleeps with him, especially when he isn’t feeling well.

My very youngest daughter has had to have her pink blanket who she named Scrumpy peas. The name came one night when she was eating peas at dinner and she said they were scrumptious. Note that she was 3….lol. They she announced that her blankey was just as scrumptious hence scrumpy peas. She is 13 and it is still being used when she doesn’t feel well.

Hi Jessica, I can’t remember how I found your blog but this post caught my attention. So, I thought I would use this opportunity to stop in and say hi. I have three children and my two oldest are 4 and 2 (both boys). They both have security things that they sleep with. My four year old has a satin blankie. He was about 6-9 months when he became attached to it and to this day (he’ll be five in Oct.) he still can’t sleep without it. My two year old has a stuffed zebra. He used to carry it everywhere but lately he has just wanted it when he sleeps. As you can imagine both are pretty ragged. Fortunately, we were able to find a backup blankie for my oldest (which has come in handy for washing and such) but we haven’t been able to find another zebra. My daughter is seven months and has recently started sucking on her thumb. Other than that she hasn’t shown interest in anything else. She was three months early so I don’t know if that has anything to do with it or not.

Jayfersgirl – my daughter will probably be the same way but with her bear…her first Build a Bear Workshop bear that she made in 5th grade. She now works at BABW!!! (She is a sr. in high school)

Both my girls had blankies as infants that we put away at the ripe old age of 5…when they were so destroyed!!! Still have them in the hall closet, though, just can’t seem to get rid of those memories!!!

When I was younger I had a comfort blanket called ‘Ticket’. I was not at all interested in the blanket I just like the little ticket thing attached to it to hold on to. I grew out of it but still have it.

My niece has a rag doll called Dolly which she cannot remove from her sight. xxx.

I am to the point where I have to limit home many things my daughter takes to bed. There are usually 3 baby dolls, 3 mimi’s (crocheted blankets), and an assortment of stuffed animals. (which all have names, by the way.)

The fan thing is true — it’s recommended to have a fan going in baby’s room to reduce the risk of SIDS. We also have the sensor monitor that senses all movement and goes off if she stops breathing — I know I’d never be able to sleep if we didn’t have that in her bed!

My 4 year old sleeps with a yellow “Silky” that she has slept with since birth. We had two, but now we are down to one. My 2 year old never attached to anything, except the bottle. 🙁 She goes to sleep with a bottle. I STILL move things away from my kids’ faces at night when they are sleeping, and they are way past the SIDS stage. Can’t be too safe!

Elias looks like an angel sleeping there. I miss those days!Cecilia has always fallen asleep with a blankie. Her 1st one she had as a newborn was a big fleece one; then at a couple of months I gave her my blankie that I had as a baby, and she still uses it from time to time. Her blankie that she has now is a big plush teddy bear blanket that someone gave me when she was 9 months old, and now at two and half, it’s her only blanket. She drags that thing everywhere! I call her ‘Linus’ sometimes

Awww, there’s nothing like a sleeping baby. I remember worrying when my son started being able to roll, too. We even had a sleep positioner in there for awhile, but he was such a Houdini he’d roll over the sides of that, and then I’d worry that thing could suffocate him! Lol! =o) Now that he is a toddler, he always sleeps on his tummy, butt straight up in the air. It is so cute and funny. But I’m with you; you can never be too careful. I think that’s a Mommy thing period, no matter how many you have. Holden has to have his special blue blankie. It is blue fleece on one side, blue satin on the other. He rubs the stain against his cheek and lips when he is tired. It is his “nigh nigh” and he HAS to have it if he’s tired, upset, or hurt. Today “nigh nigh” traveled to the doctor’s office with us. =o) It’s his security and I like that it keeps him my baby even though he’s getting so big.

My 21 month old daughter has a teddy bear she LOVES to sleep with. But it only started in the past 6 months or so. she didn’t really have anything before that. My daughter has also been sleeping on her stomach for a long time… probably since she was 9 months old… and she still does! she tucks her knees up underneath her and sticks her butt up in the air!!

One of my daughters had a thin diaper that we used for spit up and burping. She got attached to it because I always had it with her when I nursed her. We called it her “snuggly.” The other daughter loved her Sparkling Bunny so much and slept with her from the time she was a little girl all the way through college. It reappeared last Sunday with a note and diamond ring attached to her when her sweet Bryan proposed! I guess he knew that Sparkling Bunny was her first love.

this is actually quite weird and funny…both of our kids NEED their waterbottles when they go to bed! When they were babies, they had soothers(or pacifier, binky…). I slowly replaced the soother with a water bottle. It is now the only thing they consistently ask for at bedtime. I would never have guessed it would have become so important to them! Sometimes they want a blanket or a stuffed toy, and other times they want nothing. When my daughter was a baby she always slept well when a soft blanket was tucked in around her chin.Elias looks absolutely adorable in that photo!!

My son who is 3 1/2 has his “nite-nite” that he sleeps with. It is a blue bear that is washable and very soft. He is content to go about his day without his bear and really only needs him at bedtime or if I put him in the naughty corner. LOL!We had bought a second bear when he was younger to use as a substitute in case he ever lost the first one. Well, he never wanted ANYTHING to do with it. He wasn’t fooled one bit, even though I had squashed the bear all up and rubbed it on me to make it seem like the original one!Well, when our daughter came along (18 months old now), we purchased the same brand of nite-nite for her, but chose a yellow elephant. At one point, she found the imposter blue bear and now has to sleep with both of them. One will not do! My son once asked me why she got to have two nite-nites. HA!They are both quite attached to their little animals at naptime or at night. They don’t seem to want much to do with them at any other time during the day, but they always have to know where they are. I always worried terribly bad about my firstborn suffocating, but not so much with my second baby. The doctor told us that when they can roll, they know how to turn their heads to breathe just fine. 🙂Loving the new pic!Blessings!!

My middle niece has a moose with a very floppy neck. Moose was a shower gift from friends who are moose lovers, and Beth goes nowhere without that Moose. He goes to church, to lunch, to Memere's house, to shopping, supervises bath time, potty time, loves to read, drink milk, bubbles, and he even prays! Oh yes, he even goes to bed with Beth. His preferred sleeping spot: on top of Beth's eyes. She will stop what she's doing, fold her hands, yell out "PRAY" to anyone who's listening, and then thank God for her Moose. She has several other moose, but only this Moose is THE ONE.

Life will cease & the world will come to a giant thud the day that Moose retires.

My little boy is almost 9 months old. He also likes to sleep on his side a lot. It’s always on his left side and he then almost always ends up on his stomach. He does have a lovey in his bed with him. At times he gets it on and off through the night. He has always been okay. I know that a lot of moms use blankets with their kids by this time in the game but I’m not comfortable with that just yet.I had blanket that I slept with until it fell apart when I was about 17. =)

My daughter sleeps with a Snoedel. I got it online. It’s a little lovey made of special flannel material that holds mama’s scent. You wear it in your shirt for a few nights when you first get it. It (sorta) helps with separation anxiety at night. They’re cute–come in all different colors and patterns.

My daughter sleeps with a blanket. Or a burp cloth. She’s actually not particular – so when her 1-foot square pink blankie is in the laundry (these things get so stinky!!), she’s content to use a replacement.

As far as being an overprotective, first-time mom, I’m right there with you. That’s why my daughter (16 months) is only allowed tiny blankets and why she wasn’t even allowed that until she was about a year old. And oh yeah, I check on her a couple times after she goes to bed to make sure she’s still breathing. Even now. 🙂

My almost 2 year old has a strange fascination with his crib bumper. He used to use the very corner as a little pillow (or drool mat), so the corner is very soft. Now he likes to rub the fabric between his fingers and if he wakes pre-maturely and can’t find the soft spot then he doesn’t go back to sleep. He also likes to have a stuffed lovey, and although he prefers his bear, any stuffed whatsit will work.

My youngest daughter who will be 11 years old tomorrow had a blanket she called ‘soft ni-night’ and would still have it today if it hadn’t disintigrated. Literally. She actually has a few strings of it left and tells me often how she ‘misses my soft ni-night.’ So my answer is sometimes they do not grow out of it. lol

Mine has a blanket that he sleeps with and cannot be without – it is like an afghan with tassle-like edges. Like a throw you would see in just about every household in America. Unfortunately, his is baby sized and I cannot find a replacement. His is starting to unravel and I’m having so much trouble figuring out what to do when we have to just take it away altogether.

I still check on him and he’s 18 months and in a toddler bed. It’s a natural Mama thing to do.

Our 5.5 year old daughter has ‘bunny’ — she’s an infant ‘My first Bunny’. Poor Bunny has seen better days but we are unable to find a suitable replacement. Parker (our daughter) has been sleeping with bunny since she was 3 months old. Bunny is so important that when she leaves the house, she tells who ever is staying behind to ‘watch her’ and let her know if she behaves. I literally pray every time we have to wash her, she makes it though the delicate cycle in lingerie bag inside a pillow case!

Our 2 year old son went 2 whole years without being a attached and had to take a stuffed animal to daycare one for something they were working on. He took Cookie Monster and has been sleeping with him ever since. You better believe I marched right back to Target to get a ‘back up’ Cookie and am seriously considering getting a back up for the back up.

I just posted on my blog about this very topic. We have Harvey Hamel the Camel, and our comfort object theory has backfired. Zeke is currently screaming his head off because he threw Harvey out of the crib and can’t get him back. And he pretty much can’t fall asleep without the camel soooo….looking for advice on this one too! Ack!

Thanks for this post Jessica. You have been posting about a lot of things lately that I have been wondering about too.

My son is almost 8 months and I’ve noticed that he reaches for material to touch when feeding and sleeping. I haven’t been sure as to whether I should introduce a blankie/lovey. I’m wondering whether having a lovey now will make toddler sleeping issues easier.

I’m more comfortable with Brian having something in his cot now as I know he can move it if he needs but it still doesn’t stop me checking on him hundreds of times each night!

My son Zack is 3 1/2 and since he’s been about 1 he has gone to bed with a sippy cup. At first, it was milk (yes, I know all about how bad it is.) So we finally broke him of the milk habit with water…and now he HAS to go to bed with a sippy cup. He literally cuddles with it. I have so many photos of him cuddling a little sippy. i could take a pic every single night because I never stop being amazed at how crazy it is. Who ever heard of a sippy cup as a security blanket?! love that little guy.

our little bill has 2 blankets that he must have and he has this certain thing he wants us to do with them.

he wants the larger of the 2 blankets laid down first in his crib and then the smaller one on top of that one! then he lays down on both of them to sleep. he doesn’t even cover up with them. he just likes to lay on them. he has done this since he was 1 yr old. he just turned 2!

Hi Jessica! I love this post because my son is EXACTLY the same. He MUST sleep with his bunny… I did a post on it in January. I bounced to your blog last year when you were pregnant with your first, just as I was. I feel like you are a girl after my own heart… “photoshoots” with my son are the best! 🙂 I have been a follower for a long time and thought I should finally leave my first comment. 🙂 Blessings, Katrina

Both my kids had “blankies”! Our daughter was more attached to hers than our son was. She would have dragged it around with her all day if we’d have let her but they were both only allowed to have them for sleeping/comfort. She was particularily attached to a particular “corner” of her blanket and as she grew the blanket became sort of shredded with wear and tear. So my mom cut the corner off and double stitched it so she could hold it. She was about 5 or 6 when “the corner” disappeared! We’d moved and it got lost in the move (so she was told). Our son…I think he was pretty much done with his blankie by age 2 or 3. I see nothing wrong with this type of comfort…it makes sleeping elsewhere (granma’s house etc) easier. Plus is just something familiar to hang onto.

Each of my boys had a blanket made by my grandmother. Drew only wanted his when he was sleepy and only when at home.

Ryan wanted his nearby but didn’t want to hold it or have it on him until he went to sleep. That’s when he found a way to open the stitching in one of the corners, tucked his index finger into it, and snuggled the blanket to sleep.

Those “boys” are 19 and 22 now. I was cleaning recently and found their blankets (shabby little remnants that they are) in a rubbermaid container. When I showed them what I found, Drew took his into his room and I haven’t seen it since. Ryan said he wanted his put back in the container until he had a kid and then his kid could use it until one was made for him/her.

Who is he kidding? I’ve learned how to sew since he was little and I’m going to make all his kids new blankets!